Swing spout having a rotational detent

ABSTRACT

In one embodiment, a swing spout is provided. The swing spout includes a spout hub and a bearing member. The spout hub is operable to rotate relative to the bearing member. The bearing member has a detent and the spout hub has a detent member. When the spout hub is rotated to a predetermined position, the detent member of the spout hub engages the detent of the bearing member.

BACKGROUND

The invention relates to a swing spout and more specifically, to a swingspout having a detent on a bearing member to aid in positioning theswing spout in a predetermined location.

Some faucets have a spout which is capable of rotating to allow water tobe distributed to different parts of a sink or tub. These types ofspouts are sometimes referred to as swing spouts. A swing spout allows auser to rotate the spout in a circumferential direction to a desiredlocation. Once the spout has been moved to the desired location, thespout generally remains in that position but is not locked into thatposition. At any time, a user may reposition the spout by applying asmall circumferentially-directed force to the spout and removing theforce when the spout has rotated to the desired position. Again, thespout will generally remain in the desired position, in an unlockedstate, until another small circumferentially-directed force is appliedto the spout. At all positions, the same amount of smallcircumferentially-directed force is needed to move the spout to a newlocation.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a swing spout is provided. The swing spout includes aspout hub and a bearing member. The spout hub is operable to rotaterelative to the bearing member. The bearing member has a detent and thespout hub has a detent member. When the spout hub is rotated to apredetermined position, the detent member of the spout hub engages thedetent of the bearing member.

Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention willbecome readily apparent from the following detailed description of theinvention and the embodiments thereof, from the claims and from theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention as well as embodiments and advantages thereof aredescribed below in greater detail, by way of example, with reference tothe drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a swing spout in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2A is a top plan view of the bearing member of the swing spout ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 2B is a bottom plan view of the bearing member of the swing spoutof FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the spout hub of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3B is an inverted perspective view of the spout hub of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4A is a top cross-sectional view of the detent of the bearingmember and the detent member of the spout hub of FIG. 1 in a non-engagedstate; and

FIG. 4B is a top cross-sectional view of the detent of the bearingmember and the detent member of the spout hub of FIG. 1 in an engagedstate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many differentforms, there are shown in the drawings and will be described herein indetail specific embodiments thereof with the understanding that thepresent disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of theprinciples of the invention and is not intended to limit the inventionto the specific embodiments illustrated.

FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of a swing spout 10. The swing spout 10includes a spout hub 12 and a spout tube 14. The spout tube 14 has arear end 16 and a front end 18. Disposed on the front end 18 of thespout tube 14 is a tip assembly 20. The tip assembly 20 may be one ormore pieces that are attached to the front end 18 of the spout tube 14or the tip assembly 20 may optionally be omitted from the final designof the swing spout 10. The rear end 16 of the spout tube 14 is attachedto the spout hub 12. The spout hub 12 is aligned with the rear end 16 ofthe spout tube 14 such that fluid may pass from within the spout hub 12and into the rear end 16 of the spout tube 14.

On an upper end 24 of the spout hub 12, a cap 26 is disposed. An o-ring28 is disposed between the upper end 24 of the spout hub 12 and the cap26. The o-ring 28 prevents fluid from leaking between the upper end 24of the spout hub 12 and the cap 26.

The swing spout 10 also includes a bearing member 30 and a nipple 32.The nipple 32 connects to a water supply 34. The nipple 32 is covered byan escutcheon 36 and the spout hub 12. The nipple 32 includes a port 38which allows fluid to move from inside the nipple 32 to the port 22 ofthe spout hub 12 and into the spout tube 14. Also, the nipple 32 has aledge 40 protruding from the outer surface of the nipple 32. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 1, the bearing member 30 fits over the top ofthe nipple 32 and rests on the ledge 40. The bearing member 30 has atleast one locking projection 42 which firmly sits in a correspondinglocking cavity 44 in the ledge 40 of the nipple 32. As a result, thebearing member 30 is fixed to the nipple 32 and is not free to rotaterelative to the nipple 32. While the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 uses aseparate piece from the nipple 32, it is possible to have the two piecescombined into a single piece.

Now referring to FIG. 2A, a top view of the bearing member 30 is shown.The bearing member includes a detent 46 and at least one stop 48. Thedetent 46 as shown is a pair of flexible fingers, however, the detent 46may be other shapes and configurations. The detent 46 serves to hold thespout hub 12 in a semi-locked (or engaged state) at a predeterminedrotational position. A user may rotate the spout hub 12 out of thesemi-locked (or engaged) state by applying a force that is greater thanthe force required to rotate the spout hub 12 at other positions. Thus,as a user rotates the spout hub 12 relative to the bearing member 30 byapplying a first pushing force to the spout hub 12, when the spout hub12 reaches the predetermined rotational position, the user will feel anabrupt resistance provided by the detent 46. At this point, the spouthub 12 will not rotate further with respect to the bearing member 30unless the pushing force is increased above a threshold level. Theinter-operation between the spout hub 12 and the detent 46 of thebearing member 30 will be discussed in greater detail with respect toFIGS. 4A and 4B.

Referring to FIG. 2B, a bottom view of the bearing member 30 is shown.As discussed previously, the bearing member 30 may have at least onelocking projection 42 to engage the locking cavity 44 in the ledge 40 ofthe nipple 32.

Referring now to FIG. 3A, a perspective view of the spout hub 12 isshown. The spout hub 12 has a cavity 50 and a port 22. The cavity 50houses the nipple 32 and the bearing member 30. The port 22 is disposedthrough the spout hub 12 allows fluid to move from the nipple 32, out ofthe spout hub 12 and into the spout tube 14. Port 22 is enclosed by andaligned with the rear end 16 of the spout tube 14.

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the spout hub 12 in an invertedposition. Within the cavity 50, the spout hub 12 includes a detentmember 52, a rotational limiting portion 54 and a rotational channel 56.In one embodiment, the detent member 52 is a small projection whichcorresponds to the size and shape of the detent 46 of the bearing member30. The rotational limiting portion 54 serves to limit the rotationalrange of the spout hub 12 relative to the bearing member 30. The shapeand size of the rotational limiting portion 54 may vary to adjust to thesize and shape of bearing member 30. Also, the size (or length) of therotational limiting portion 54 may vary to allow the spout hub 12 agreater or smaller rotational range about the bearing member 30. Asdiscussed in more detail below, the stop 48 of the bearing member 30moves within the rotational channel 56 when the spout hub 12 is rotatedrelative to the bearing member 30.

Referring now to FIG. 4A, a cross-sectional view of the spout hub 12 andthe bearing member 30 is shown in which the detent 46 is not engaged bythe detent member 52. As shown, the spout hub 12 is rotated as far aspossible in a clockwise direction relative to the bearing member 30. Inthis position, the stop 48, which is disposed in the rotational channel56 of the spout hub 12 at A, contacts the rotational limiting portion 54of the spout hub 12 such that the stop 48 obstructs the further rotationof the spout hub 12 relative to the bearing member 30.

While the spout hub 12 positioned as shown in FIG. 4A is prevented fromrotating in a clockwise direction relative to the bearing member 30, thespout hub 12 may be rotated in the counterclockwise direction relativeto the bearing member 30. This is accomplished by applying acircumferential force (rotational force) to the spout hub 12. Therotational force need only be large enough to overcome the frictionforce between the spout hub 12 and the bearing member 30.

As a user applies the rotational force in the counterclockwisedirection, the spout hub 12 begins to rotate in a counterclockwisedirection relative to the bearing member 30. As long as the rotationalforce is applied, the spout hub 12 will continue to rotate in thecounterclockwise direction relative to the bearing member 30 until thedetent member 52 approaches the detent 46. As the detent member 52approaches the detent 46, the detent 46 is compressed radially inwardagainst a support member 58. The support member 58 provides support andresistance to the radially inward compression of the detent 46. However,depending on the material used, the support member 58 may not be needed.Furthermore, if the detent 46 is something other than a mechanicaldevice, the support member 58 may again not be needed.

As the detent 46 compresses and as the support member 58 resists thecompression, the user may feel this resistance. As the detent member 52reaches a lip portion 60 of the detent 46, the user will feel aresistance to the rotation of the spout hub 12 relative to the bearingmember 30. To continue to rotate the spout hub 12 in a counterclockwisedirection relative to the bearing member 30, the rotational force mustbe increased to force the detent 46 to further compress radially inwardsuch that the detent member 52 may move past the lip portion 60 of thedetent 46.

If the rotational force is increased to compress the detent 46 farenough to allow the detent member 52 to move past the lip portion 60 ofthe detent 46, then the spout hub 12 will move into a center 62 of thedetent 46 as shown in FIG. 4B. In this engaged state, the detent 46 ispressed radially outward by the support member 58 and the lip portion 60of the detent 46 restricts the rotational movement of the spout hub 12in both directions relative to the bearing member 30. Although thedetent 46 restricts the rotational movement of the spout hub 12 relativeto the bearing member 30, it does not completely prevent spout hub 12from being rotated relative to the bearing member 30. In order to rotatethe spout hub 12 out of its engaged state as shown in FIG. 4B, acircumferential force must be applied to the spout hub 12 that exceeds athreshold. The threshold is determined by the particular detent 46 usedbut the threshold exceeds the force needed to rotate the spout hub 12relative to the bearing member 30 when the spout hub is in a non-engagedstate. As a result, a user may know when the spout hub 12 reaches apredetermined engaged position because the spout hub 12 will not rotateas easily and the user would be able to “feel” the detent member 52position at any time simply by rotating the spout hub 12 until thedetent member 52 of the spout hub 12 engages the detent 46 of thebearing member 30.

In use, the detent 46 of the bearing member 30 may be used to center thespout 1 relative to the sink or tub. For example, a user may wish to beable to rotate the spout 1 to deliver water to various parts of the sinkor tub. However, for aesthetic reasons, the user may wish to return thespout 1 to the center of the sink or tub after use. One way to assurethat the spout 1 is returned to the same center location each time theuser wishes is for the detent 46 of the bearing member 30 to be alignedwith the center of the sink. In this way, the user can simply rotate thespout 1 towards the center until the detent member 52 of the spout hubengages the detent 46 of the bearing member 30. Once engaged, the spout1 will not easily (or accidentally) be rotated from that centerposition. As a result, the user is assured that the spout 1 is centeredin the same location time after time.

The above description of some of the embodiments of the presentinvention has been given by way of example. From the disclosure given,those skilled in the art will not only understand the present inventionand its attendant advantages, but will also find apparent variouschanges and modifications to the structures and methods disclosed. It issought, therefore, to cover all such changes and modifications as fallwithin the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined by the appendedclaims, and equivalents thereof.

1. A swing spout comprising: a spout hub having a detent member; and abearing member having a detent and abutting said spout hub, wherein saidspout hub is operable to rotate relative to said bearing member andwherein said detent member engages said detent at a predeterminedrotational position.
 2. The swing spout of claim 1 wherein said detentincludes a pair of flexible fingers and said detent member includes aprojection.
 3. The swing spout of claim 1, wherein said bearing memberincludes a stop and said spout hub includes a rotational limitingportion; and wherein said stop prevents rotation of said spout hubrelative to said bearing member by contacting the rotational limitingportion when said spout hub is rotated a predetermined distance relativeto said bearing member.
 4. The swing spout of claim 3 wherein said stopis disposed between said detent member and said rotational limitingportion.
 5. The swing spout of claim 1 wherein said swing spout includesa nipple, and said nipple includes a ledge having a locking cavity; andwherein said bearing member abuts said ledge and said bearing memberincludes a locking projection disposed within said locking cavity. 6.The swing spout of claim 5 further comprising: a support member disposedbetween said detent and said nipple.
 7. The swing spout of claim 6wherein said support member is an elastomer.
 8. A faucet comprising: anipple; a spout hub having a detent member, said spout hub disposed overan upper portion of said nipple; a bearing member having a detent, saidbearing member disposed between an inner surface of said spout hub andan outer surface of said nipple, wherein said spout hub is operable torotate relative to said bearing member and wherein said detent memberengages said detent at a predetermined rotational position therebysetting said spout hub.
 9. The faucet of claim 8 wherein said detentincludes a pair of flexible fingers and wherein said detent memberincludes a projection from said inner surface of said spout hub.
 10. Thefaucet of claim 8, wherein said bearing member includes a stop and saidspout hub includes a rotational limiting portion; and wherein said stopprevents rotation of said spout hub relative to said bearing member bycontacting the rotational limiting portion when said spout hub isrotated a predetermined distance relative to said bearing member. 11.The faucet of claim 10 wherein said stop is disposed between said detentmember and said rotational limiting portion.
 12. The faucet of claim 8wherein said swing spout includes a nipple and said nipple includes aledge having a locking cavity; wherein said bearing member abuts saidledge; and wherein said bearing member includes a locking projectiondisposed within said locking cavity.
 13. The faucet of claim 8 furthercomprising: a support member disposed between said detent and saidnipple.
 14. The faucet of claim 13 wherein said support member is anelastomer.
 15. A method of rotating a swing spout comprising the stepsof: rotating a spout hub relative to a bearing member having a detentuntil a detent member on said spout hub is positioned within saiddetent.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein said detent includes a pairof flexible fingers; and wherein said detent member includes aprojection from an inner surface of said spout hub.
 17. The method ofclaim 15 further comprising the step on: further rotating said spout hubrelative to said bearing member until said detent member is notpositioned within said detent.
 18. The method of claim 17 furthercomprising the steps of: Further rotating said spout hub relative tosaid bearing member until a rotational limiting portion of said spouthub contacts a stop on said bearing member.
 19. The method of claim 16wherein as said spout hub approaches said detent, a first finger ispressed radially inwardly against a support member.
 20. The method ofclaim 19 wherein said support member is disposed between said bearingmember and a nipple.